Social | ማህበራዊ ህይወት

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Release of 10,000 detainees announced

(Dec 22, (Al jazeera))--About 12,500 people have been detained since state of emergency was declared in October in Oromia and Amhara regions. Ethiopia says it is releasing nearly 10,000 people detained under its ongoing state of emergency but plans to charge almost 2,500 others accused of destabilising the country.

Authorities have held about 12,500 individuals since declaring the state of emergency on October 9 after months of anti-government protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions.

Human rights groups, which accused the government of using excessive force in the protests, said hundreds were killed in the demonstrations in some of the country's worst violence since the ruling party came to power in 1991. Under emergency rule, detainees could be sent to rehabilitation centres without charge, the government had previously said.

"[The detainees] have been given lots of trainings that were meant to give them lessons so that they won't be part of the destructive trend that we have seen in the past," Zadig Abraha, government spokesman, said on Wednesday. Read more from Al jazeera »